Systems and methods for latency reduction for 2-step random access channel (RACH) hybrid automatic repeat requests (HARQ)

Abstract

Wireless communications systems and methods related to the timing arrangements and the transmission gap configurations in 2-step random access channel (RACH) procedures to improve system latency and reliability of a RACH HARQ process are provided. The UE transmits a first message including a random access preamble and a payload, and then monitors for a second message in response to the first message during a random access response (RAR) window. In response to determining that no second message is received by the UE from the BS or a back off indicator is received within the RAR window, the UE re-transmits the preamble and payload of the first message after the RAR window lapses. In response to determining if the second message received within the RAR window carries a FallbackRAR or SuccessRAR, the UE then determines to re-transmit the payload of the first message based on the FallbackRAR, or to transmit an acknowledgement message based on the SuccessRAR.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:
 receiving, by a user equipment (UE) from a base station (BS), system information for initiating a random access channel (RACH) procedure; 
 transmitting, by the UE to the BS, a first message including a random access preamble and a first payload of a connection request; 
 monitoring, by the UE from the BS, for a second message in response to the first message during a random access response (RAR) window; 
 re-transmitting, by the UE to the BS, the first message in response to determining based on the monitoring that no second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window; 
 re-transmitting, by the UE, the first payload to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window, and that a second payload decoded from the second message indicates a fallback response; and 
 transmitting, by the UE, an acknowledgement message to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window and that the second payload indicates a success response. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 waiting, by the UE, for a time gap after receiving a last data symbol of the system information from the BS before transmitting the first message to the BS,
 wherein the time gap is determined by at least one of: 
 a duplexing mode between the BS and the UE; 
 a tuning time for numerology or a bandwidth part (BWP) switch between the last data symbol and a first data symbol of the first message; 
 a preparation time for the first payload; or 
 a processing time for a downlink channel that transmits the system information from the BS to the UE. 
 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 waiting, by the UE, for a time gap between transmission of the random access preamble and transmission of the first payload,
 wherein the time gap is determined by at least one of: 
 a physical random access channel (PRACH) format; 
 a time-domain resource allocation; 
 a time slot format; 
 a tuning time for numerology switch between the random access preamble and the first payload; 
 a listen-before-talk mechanism between the BS and the UE; 
 a channel occupancy time between the BS and the UE; 
 a frequency band for the RACH procedure; or 
 a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) mapping type for the first message. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining, by the UE, includes:
 determining, by the UE, to re-transmit the connection request to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window but no payload is decoded from the second message; and 
 further comprising:
 re-transmitting, by the UE to the BS, the first message after the RAR window has lapsed. 
 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 re-selecting, by the UE, the random access preamble or a PUSCH occasion used for the random access preamble in time or frequency domain for the re-transmitted first message. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 re-constructing a payload for the re-transmitted first message with a different content from the first payload. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining, by the UE, further comprises:
 determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window, and 
 further comprising:
 decoding the second payload from the second message; 
 in response to determining that the decoded second payload indicates the first payload was successfully decoded at the BS, transmitting, by the UE to the BS, an acknowledgement message indicative of a connection setup in response to the connection request within the RAR window. 
 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 waiting for a time gap after a last data symbol of the second message before transmitting the acknowledgement message, 
 wherein the time gap is determined by at least one of: 
 a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) processing time; 
 a time slot format; or 
 whether the acknowledgement message is piggybacked on PUSCH. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 applying, by the UE, a timing advance offset to adjust a timing offset on an uplink from the UE to the BS before transmitting the acknowledgement message. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the acknowledgement is transmitted via:
 a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); 
 uplink control information (UCI) piggybacked on PUSCH; or 
 an uplink reference signal. 
 
     
     
       11. A method of wireless communication, comprising:
 broadcasting, by a base station (BS) to a user equipment (UE), system information for initiating a random access channel procedure; 
 receiving, by the BS from the UE, a first message including a random access preamble and a first payload of a connection request; and 
 determining, by the BS, whether at least a portion of the first message is decodable; 
 refraining from transmitting any message to the UE within a random access response (RAR) window in response to a decoding failure of the first message; and 
 transmitting, by the BS to the UE, a RAR message containing a second payload indicating a fallback response or a success response that is determined based on a type of the portion of the first message in response to a decoding success of at least the portion of the first message. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first message is received after a time gap after a last data symbol of the system information,
 wherein the time gap is determined by at least one of: 
 a duplexing mode between the BS and the UE; 
 a tuning time for numerology or a bandwidth part (BWP) switch between the last data symbol and a first data symbol of the first message; 
 a preparation time for the first payload; or 
 a processing time for a downlink channel that transmits the system information from the BS to the UE. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the transmission of the random access preamble and transmission of the first payload are separated by a time gap, and
 wherein the time gap is determined by at least one of: 
 a physical random access channel (PRACH) format; 
 time-domain resource allocation; 
 time slot format; 
 a tuning time for numerology switch between the random access preamble and the first payload; 
 a listen-before-talk mechanism between the BS and the UE; 
 a channel occupancy time between the BS and the UE; 
 a frequency band for the RACH procedure; or 
 a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) mapping type for the first message. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the BS from the UE, a retransmission of the first message after the RAR window has lapsed, in response to a decoding failure of the first message. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the random access preamble or a PUSCH occasion in time or frequency domain is re-selected for the re-transmitted first message. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , wherein a payload is re-constructed with a different content than the first payload for the re-transmitted first message. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 decoding the first payload from the first message; 
 in response to determining that the first payload was successfully decoded, preparing and transmitting, by the BS, the second message including the second payload indicating a decoding success; and 
 receiving, by the BS from the UE, an acknowledgement message indicative of a connection setup in response to the connection request within the RAR window. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the acknowledgement message is received after a time gap since a last data symbol of the second message, and
 wherein the time gap is lower bounded by a value determined by at least one of: 
 a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) processing time; 
 a time slot format; and 
 whether the acknowledgement message is piggybacked on PUSCH. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 17 , wherein a timing advance offset is applied to adjust a timing offset on an uplink from the UE to the BS before the acknowledgement message is transmitted. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 17 , wherein the acknowledgement message is received over at least one of:
 a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH); 
 uplink control information (UCI) piggybacked on PUSCH; and 
 an uplink reference signal. 
 
     
     
       21. A user equipment (UE) of wireless communication, comprising:
 one or more memories storing processor-executable codes; 
 a transceiver configured to:
 receive system information for initiating a random access channel (RACH) procedure; 
 transmit a first message including a random access preamble and a first payload of a connection request; 
 monitor for a second message in response to the first message during a random access response (RAR) window; 
 re-transmit the first message in response to determining based on the monitoring that no second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window; and 
 
 one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:
 re-transmit the first payload to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window, and that a second payload decoded from the second message indicates a fallback response; and 
 
 transmit an acknowledgement message to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window and that the second payload indicates a success response. 
 
     
     
       22. The UE of  claim 21 , wherein the processor is further configured to: determine that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window; decode the second payload from the second message; re-transmit the first payload containing the connection request using the PUSCH within the RAR window in response to determining that the decoded second payload indicates a decoding failure of the first payload at the BS. 
     
     
       23. The UE of  claim 22 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 wait for a time gap after a last data symbol of the second message before re-transmitting the first payload, 
 wherein the time gap is determined by at least one of: 
 a PDSCH processing time; 
 a time slot format; or 
 a PUSCH preparation time. 
 
     
     
       24. The UE of  claim 21 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 obtain an indication of a length of the RAR window from RRC signaling when the UE is radio resource control (RRC) connected with the BS, 
 wherein the length of the RAR window overrides a previously obtained length of the RAR window information. 
 
     
     
       25. The UE of  claim 21 , wherein a length of the RAR window is determined based on at least one of:
 a priority level of the first message; 
 a density of resource allocation to the first message; or 
 synchronization-signal-block (SSB) to occasion association periodicity. 
 
     
     
       26. A base station (BS) of wireless communication, comprising:
 one or more memories storing processor-executable codes; 
 a transceiver configured to:
 broadcast system information for initiating a random access channel procedure; 
 receive a first message including a random access preamble and a first payload of a connection request; and 
 
 one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to execute the code to cause the BS to:
 determine whether at least a portion of the first message is decodable; 
 refrain from transmitting any message to the UE within a random access response (RAR) window in response to a decoding failure of the first message; and 
 
 wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit a RAR message containing a second payload indicating a fallback response or a success response that is determined based on a type of the portion of the first message in response to a decoding success of at least the portion of the first message. 
 
     
     
       27. The BS of  claim 26 , wherein a first PDCCH symbol of the second message is searched by using a common search space when the UE is RRC inactive at a start of the RAR window. 
     
     
       28. The BS of  claim 26 , wherein a first PDCCH symbol of the second message is searched using a common search space (CSS) or a UE-specific search space (USS) when the UE is connected to the BS via a contention based random access (CBRA) procedure, or using the UE-specific search space (USS) when the UE is connected to the BS via a contention free random access (CFRA) procedure. 
     
     
       29. The BS of  claim 26 , wherein the RAR window is started at a starting point aligned with a first PDCCH symbol in a PDCCH search space of the second message. 
     
     
       30. The BS of  claim 26 , wherein a starting point of the RAR window is aligned with a first PDCCH symbol in an earliest CSS or USS for PDCCH of the second message under CBRA, and
 wherein the starting point of the RAR window is aligned with the first PDCCH symbol in the earliest USS for the PDCCH of the second message under CFRA. 
 
     
     
       31. A non-transitory storage medium storing processor-executable instructions for a user equipment of wireless communication, the processor-executable instructions including instructions executable by a processor to:
 receive system information for initiating a random access channel (RACH) procedure; 
 transmit a first message including a random access preamble and a first payload of a connection request; 
 monitor for a second message in response to the first message during a random access response (RAR) window; 
 re-transmit the first message in response to determining based on the monitoring that no second message is received within the RAR window; 
 re-transmit the first payload to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window, and that a second payload decoded from the second message indicates a fallback response; and 
 transmit an acknowledgement message to the BS in response to determining that the second message is received by the UE from the BS within the RAR window and that the second payload indicates a success response. 
 
     
     
       32. The medium of  claim 31 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to:
 search a first PDCCH symbol of the second message using a common search space when the medium is RRC inactive at a start of the RAR window. 
 
     
     
       33. The medium of  claim 31 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to:
 search a first PDCCH symbol of the second message using a common search space (CSS) or a medium-specific search space (USS) when the medium is connected via a contention based random access (CBRA) procedure, or using the USS only when the medium is connected via a contention free random access (CFRA) procedure. 
 
     
     
       34. The medium of  claim 31 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to:
 start a timer for the RAR window after a PUSCH occasion of the first message, 
 wherein a starting point of the RAR window is aligned with a first PDCCH symbol in a PDCCH search space of the second message. 
 
     
     
       35. The medium of  claim 31 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to:
 start a timer for the RAR window after a PUSCH occasion of the first message, 
 wherein a starting point of the RAR window is aligned with a first PDCCH symbol in an earliest CSS or USS for PDCCH of the second message under CBRA, and 
 wherein the starting point of the RAR window is aligned with the first PDCCH symbol in the earliest USS for the PDCCH of the second message under CFRA.